Why UNC athletics ran a significant deficit in 2025, despite record revenue
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- UNC recorded $172.96M revenue but ran a deficit of more than $15M in 2025.
- Expenses rose faster than revenue, aided by coaching costs, facility debt and other costs.
- Football, men's basketball ran surpluses while other programs ran deficits.
Even a record year for UNC didn’t balance the books.
The North Carolina athletics department brought in a record $172.96 million in revenue in the 2024-25 fiscal year — and still ran a deficit of more than $15 million, according to the school’s latest NCAA financial report. It’s yet another example of how the cost of competing at the top of college athletics keeps climbing, with schools like Texas making headlines for athletics budgets of more than $375 million.
UNC’s total operating revenue has increased by $34 million over the past three fiscal years, and by $71 million over the past five. Expenses have risen even faster, growing $49 million over three years and $86 million over five.
UNC’s shortfall in the past fiscal year was covered using reserves and surplus funds from the prior year, a school spokesperson said.
The fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, marked UNC’s first operating loss after three consecutive years of profits, including a record $8.5 million profit in 2023-24. Department expenses reached nearly $188 million, up more than $30 million from the previous year as the athletic department navigated coaching changes, facility debt repayment and other planned and unplanned costs.
UNC said in a statement to the N&O that the athletic department “anticipated and planned for a shortfall for several reasons,” including:
- UNC was not scheduled to play a neutral-site football game
- UNC was not slated to receive an Orange Bowl distribution from the ACC (a distribution that cycles every three years)
- UNC was working to repay debt from several facilities projects
Football expenses jumped $9 million from the previous year, partly due to the coaching change after Mack Brown was replaced by Bill Belichick, which a UNC spokesperson described as “unanticipated transition costs.”
The athletic department reported $63.3 million in total operating revenue for football — making up more than a third of the department’s total revenue. Football generated a profit of $14.2 million.
While the numbers for this past football season won’t be available until the next financial report releases in early 2027, Chancellor Lee Roberts said at the last Board of Trustees meeting that he feels “great” about the state of the program.
“The intent was to make a long-term commitment to success in football,” Roberts said in late January. “I don’t know who you could point to who’s not making a significant investment in football across the Power 4.”
The athletic department also reported $39.7 million in total revenue for men’s basketball, a roughly $22.9 million surplus (which is greater than football’s) after subtracting $16.8 million in expenses. Every other program ran a deficit, with women’s basketball ($4.36 million) and baseball ($2.04 million) leading the losses.
The top revenue source for UNC was contributions from individuals and organizations, totaling $39.6 million — a 90% increase from the previous year — followed by media rights at $34.3 million, ticket sales of $32.1 million, and advertising and sponsorships of $24 million. Student fees added $8.5 million. UNC’s ACC distribution rose 13.2% from last year to a record $48 million, while NCAA tournament distributions for men’s and women’s basketball declined — for the second straight year — to $3.2 million for the year.
Coaching salaries and related bonuses represented the largest expense, totaling $34.9 million — up over $6 million from 2023-24.
North Carolina made several high-profile hires during the fiscal year, bringing on Belichick ($10 million annually), football GM Michael Lombardi ($1.5 million annually), basketball GM Jim Tanner ($850,000 annually) and incoming athletic director Steve Newmark ($600,000).
Other notable expenses included $16.2 million in athletic student aid, $12.1 million in team travel, $8 million in game expenses, $5.7 million in equipment and supplies, and $4.2 million in recruiting. Facilities maintenance and operations cost $15.2 million.
The department also reported $48.7 million in athletics-related debt — a decrease from the $105.1 million reported last fiscal year — and $575.7 million in athletics-dedicated endowments.
UNC has stressed its commitment to growing revenue streams — especially with the added $20.5 million in annual payouts under the House settlement — while continuing to invest in all 28 of its athletic programs.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Why UNC athletics ran a significant deficit in 2025, despite record revenue."